We have yet to see the best of Jon Gray

DENVER – The Colorado Rockies needed a big boost in the second half, and while they still have plenty of work to do before they can claim to have pulled themselves out of this hole, getting a six-inning, 10-strikeout performance from their ace, Jon Gray, was a step in the right direction.

Gray had famously pitched just 12 innings before lacing them up against the Arizona Diamondbacks last Friday night and, despite a lengthy stint on the Disabled List, took it right to one of the best offenses in baseball.

“It felt good to be back on the bigger stage,” Gray told BSN Denver. “I just wanted to slow the game down, not let things get out of hand and work pitch to pitch.” Physically, he says he is good to go, “I felt pretty good. I didn’t overthrow a lot. I stayed within myself and tried to make pitches rather than trying to blow people away early in the count.”

His calm demeanor and wicked slider played extremely well, most notably in the three strikeouts the ‘Wolf of Blake Street’ managed against All-Star — and probable NL MVP candidate — Paul Goldschmidt.

“Yeah, that was different,” Gray laughed. “I don’t know. I showed him one fastball away for a strike and then I guess he knew I was gonna try to attack him down and away, but I just made everything off the plate and just executed.”

He needed no reminding about the quality of the lineup he mostly shut down in his first game back. “They definitely made me pay for all the mistakes I had,” he said. “They hit a couple of balls to the wall and hit one out. I knew they would hit mistakes. I knew it before the game. I also knew it would just depend on what I do next, focusing on forgetting about that and executing the next [pitch].”

That’s a kind of mental toughness that Gray has admitted to us in the past he did not come to MLB equipped with. This game can be incredibly frustrating, especially for someone who is used to be able to dominate when he has his best stuff. And he is still showing that he can make the necessary adjustments, sometimes even for just one game, required to succeed over a sustained career at this level.

“I tried to make pitches down and away to lefties which is not something I normally do,” he tells us. “But it was a big part of the game. There were a few reasons why. A well-executed pitch down and away is good anyway but I think their hitters no I attack inside with fastballs and sliders and we knew if we executed down and away we would have them out. It was a good plan. And then when we wanted to back foot, it was open because their eyes were out front.”

When you have the tools that Jon Gray does, the only question is whether or not you can learn to fully harness them. One thing we know for sure, he’s putting in the time and effort to keep making himself better. We still likely have not seen his best.